Tallicababy228

I'm new to this so bare with me.

I have a 95 import wrx and I'm having some issues with the lights on the dashboard and 3 aftermarket gauges in the centre dash, the car also has two led strips under both footwells.

Quite simply the other day I flicked the switch to show someone my stylish LEDs ( not my addition) and it seemed to blow, later I noticed that the plasma dials on the speedo/rev counter and the plasmas behind the heater controls and gauges wasn't working!

If you swap the red and yellow wires on the CD player harness they all come on but stay on! It confused me, I thought there might be a fuse gone but it seems ok, checked all the red wires also and they seem good!

Small issue with the CD player also, it powers up takes a cd and ejects with no problems but seems to power down then.

Any body have any ideas?
Thanks.

piehole1983

iTrader: (7)

Sounds like the lights have been wired to the CD player switch live??? I'd take out the centre console an have a look in at the wiring. It's very easy to remove and once its out you can access the wiring easily. The wiring on my 97 was a mess, people using scotch locks need a kicking!! I removed all dodgy joints, soldered and heat shrunk everything. No more trouble

piehole1983

iTrader: (7)

Also use this wiring diagram to help identify what it's supposed to be like as standard.

http://ken-gilbert.com/wrx/mans/pre97/WiringDiag.pdf

piehole1983

iTrader: (7)

Another thing, is the CD player made by Sony?

I've always had to reverse the red and yellow on any Sony CD players I've had over the years so the memory works and it switched on and off with the ignition. Must be the way they've manufactured them!

Tallicababy228

The green LEDs, and the plasmas appear to be all wired through the stereo, but all the wires and fuses seem to be ok, it's a jvc stereo that's in it.

piehole1983

iTrader: (7)

It really sounds like the ignition switched live for the radio has blown the fuse because of overloading. Get rid of the LEDs and anything that shouldn't be connected to the circuit and check again for the fuse.

Tallicababy228

Yeah I'll get a few new fuses today and try them.

piehole1983

iTrader: (7)

I bet that's all it is, you really have to pull the fuses out and get a good look at them. Even better, test them with a multimeter if you can get one. They are cheap in Argos, Halfords etc.

Tallicababy228

Yeah I've got a multi meter somewhere I just couldn't find it last night when I was looking at the car so I was relying on seeing a brake in the fuse. I'll get a better look later.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Blade-type fuses are a b*gger for being blown and not showing

Tallicababy228

Thanks very much for all the help, I'll check and change fuses as required later and let u know how it goes.

Tallicababy228

Still at a stand still with this, checked all fuses, all working fine, all is connected through the CD player like I said and if I take the yellow wire out of the connector and swap it with the red on in the connector everything works fine, does that mean there's a brake in a red wire somewhere?

*matthewturb2000*

iTrader: (11)

maybe a in-line fuse on the red wire, are we on about the head unit red wire, or am i getting my wires crossed

Tallicababy228

Haha, yeah I take the yellow wire from the CD player and connect it to the red wire from the car if that makes sense, all the lights come back on and work but obviously don't turn off when the ignition is turned off because the yellow is a constant from the battery as far as I'm aware!

piehole1983

iTrader: (7)

Yes the yellow wire is permanently live to keep the radio memory working. Have a look at this, it might help:

http://s9.postimg.org/pcmbsvmv3/Imprezaaudio.png

Tallicababy228

That's the problem sorted, clearly the multimeter I have is faulty, borrowed another and checked every single fuse, there was two blown, one under the bonnet for the fan which I had never noticed, the other was the one for the audio unit which I allready replaced last night, anyways replaced the Both of them and that's it working!

One of the wires for the LEDs was broken which is what I'm thinking was the original problem which in turn blew the fuse, I'm not an expert but I'm guessing that it touched the body of the car and when I turned the led on it blew!

All is working well now, just a few small issues with boosting now and the car is done, thanks very much for all your help along the way. I'm relatively new to scoobys and this forum and its great to know there's people out there that can help. Again thanks.

piehole1983

iTrader: (7)

No problem, glad you got sorted! I'm in the same boat as you, had mine little over a month now. Just finished installing a Blitz boost controller this evening! What issues are you having?

Tallicababy228

Yeah put a smile on my face now that one of the issues is fixed, ah nice, my car has a boost controller inside it but its not connected up and I wouldn't have a clue where to start haha, learning about the car every day, I'm only 24 so used to working on old civics and things like that haha.

The problem seems to be on start up from cold it takes a while to get it going, the engine starts and revs fine, seconds later the revs drop of and the car dies, again if you start it and try to rev it the revs drop and it dies, it takes about 10 turns of the key to get it to run. The second problem comes when the cars nice and warmed up and driving along and decide to floor it a little, the car goes to boost and it just dies and I have to release the throttle! That's pretty much the last problem with a car I've built from the ground up so not so bad haha.

piehole1983

iTrader: (7)

Well done!! I just turned 30, that's why I bought it lol! Mine did exactly the same when I got it. Turned out to be vacuum leaks all over the place. Double check all the hoses are in the right place and not cracked or split open. Once you've done that reset the ECU. Worked wonders for me once I fixed the vacuum leaks!

Tallicababy228

Ah right brilliant, what is it you've got? Yeah it's all brand new hoses so leaks and such like shouldn't really be an issue, it's more likely to be hoses in the wrong place because as I said I did all the under bonnet work myself with very little experience! I was surprised when it turned over at all haha! I've looked everywhere for diagrams and even google couldn't help haha! Knowing where everything goes would be a good start.

piehole1983

iTrader: (7)

I have a 97 turbo 2000. I can help you with the vac pipe routing if you want. I can't help but think you've maybe removed the restrictor pill that's inside the vacuum pipe connected to the turbo and waste gate actuator. Have you stuck a new pipe on there? It's the short bit with a tee on it. One end goes on the turbo compressor housing, the other on to the actuator. The tee'd off part goes to the standard boost control solenoid.

Tallicababy228

Yeah there was no pipes with the engine when I got it, just a box of bits I managed to piece together and get it running, the pill bit you said about will be missing in that case, think I've got the hoses correct from the actuator to the turbo tho yeah! What a nightmare haha!